


Safe with Neil

by Autumnalpalmetto



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrew Minyard Has a Bad Day, Cabin Fic, M/M, Sickfic, Winter, and Neil takes care of him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28155489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autumnalpalmetto/pseuds/Autumnalpalmetto
Summary: For JostenLovesMinyard on tumblrprompt: Andreil, sick with the other looking after them, cuddling in front of a fire, snowball fights, and staying at a winter cabin.Andrew gets sick on their first night in the cabin, and Neil takes it upon himself to nurse Andrew until he's feeling better.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 6
Kudos: 188
Collections: AFTG Exchange Winter 2020





	Safe with Neil

Finals came and went, leading to the start of the holiday break. They had two full weeks off with nothing to do. Before parting ways, as they always did, the team drove up to the mountains and rented a cabin in the same place they had for spring break. The weather had completely changed the scenery. Snow nearly a foot high stopped them from driving all the way up to their cabin. The major roads had been plowed, but the individual driveways had not. They parked the cars at the main office and used Matt’s truck to taxi them the mile up to their cabin. 

“Come on,” Matt yelled from the front door as soon as they finished assigning rooms. “Snowball fight!”

They were cold and wet from the trek into the cabin, Neil thought they’d all say inside and light the fire. To his amazement, almost the entire team ran past him to get in on the action. Neil watched as everyone from Dan and Nicky to Aaron and Allison raced outside to play in the snow. Only he and Andrew were left behind, standing in the living room as they watched the others through the big front window. 

“Should we join them?” Neil asked.

They seemed to be having fun. Katelyn jumped on Aaron’s back, shoving him into a snow pile while Dan shoved a giant snowball down the back of Matt’s shirt. It wasn’t Neil’s idea of a good time, but if his family was laughing and enjoying themselves, there was no way he’d hate it. Andrew looked from the window to Neil, and back. His blank expression somehow looked more forlorn than usual. 

“I hate being cold.”

Neil chuckled. “Don’t we all.”

He pulled gently on Andrew’s sleeve as he walked toward the door, letting go after only a second. It would be more fun if Andrew came, but he wasn’t going to ask again. As he walked out the door, footsteps echoed behind him, signaling Andrew was following. 

When they got outside, it was pure chaos. Everyone was tackling everyone else in the world’s coldest wrestling match. Dan, Katelyn, and Nicky were all hanging onto Matt, trying to drag him down, while Aaron, Allison, and Renee all sat on Kevin. It looked like they had divided into two teams to see who could bring their giant down the fastest. 

“This is the weirdest snowball fight I have ever seen,” Andrew said as he surveyed the mess.

“Dibs on Andrew,” Aaron yelled, ignoring the question.

Nicky groaned. “That’s not fair.”

“You already stole my girlfriend, you don’t get to steal my brother too.” Aaron sent him a glare and Nicky backed down.

“What?” Neil asked, looking between the two.

“You’re on our team,” Matt said with a grin. “Andrew’s on their team.”

Neil furrowed his brow. “Okay? What’s this for?”

Matt laughed, loud and bright. “The snowball fight. Bro, we were waiting for you.”

Both sides started building a shelter to hide behind, and then they started. Matt threw the first snowball, and it buzzed past Renee’s head. Neil rolled his eyes, realizing Aaron had managed to get both goalies on his side. There was no way for the other team to win when Renee, Andrew, and Kevin were on the same team. Allison and Aaron helped them too, but they didn’t make as much of an impact as the other three. 

Neil hid behind Matt as he threw snowball after snowball. Katelyn made them for him and Matt, ensuring they never had to stop firing. Nicky and Dan made their own, which slowed them down considerably. Within a few minutes, Neil was nearly soaked, his puffy jacket doing nothing to stop the snow from falling inside of it when Andrew hit him for the tenth time. Matt was fairing even worse, since they were all hiding behind him, but he was laughing and cheering louder than he ever had at an exy game. 

They had no idea how to call a winner, but by the time they went inside everyone on Neil’s team was soaked to the bone and that seemed like as good a deciding factor as any. Renee led the winning team into the kitchen for celebratory drinks, while Nicky called dibs on the shower. Dan and Matt sat down in front of the fireplace as they bickered about how to start a fire and Neil watched them, opting not to say he knew how to build one. 

A minute later Andrew walked up to him with a drink in hand and led him to their bedroom. They had the only one on the first floor again, and it also happened to be the only room with an ensuite. Andrew sat on the bed as Neil shed his wet clothes and got ready for a shower, digging through his duffle to find his toiletry bag. 

“Did you have fun?”

Andrew snorted. “It was less terrible than I expected.”

“Mmm, you seemed to enjoy throwing things at me.” Andrew didn’t bother acknowledging that, so Neil stood and turned toward the bathroom. “Are you cold? A shower might warm you up?”

Andrew took a slow sip, then pushed off the bed and followed Neil into the bathroom. 

Once they warmed up, they headed out to the living room. Andrew plopped down in the armchair closest to the fire and pulled Neil down too. Neil had no idea how Andrew could be cold in sweats and a hoodie, but he was. Andrew sat back against the chair, staring at the fire, while Neil leaned forward to chat with Matt. They were barely touching, just their legs pressed together, and it was nice in a way Neil had never imagined. He saw the rest of the team snuggle up with their partners all the time and it had always seemed weird to him, but he was starting to understand it. 

Aaron and Katelyn joined them a few minutes later, sitting on the couch and curling up together. Andrew didn’t bother to look at them, which was basically the same as him giving his approval. The rest of the team joined them over the next half an hour as they finished their shower, and then they started to discuss dinner options for the night. 

By the time they started getting ready for bed, Neil was warm and happy from a delightful night with his family. He put on his pajamas and climbed into bed, waiting for Andrew to finish brushing his teeth and join him. Andrew paused as he exited the bathroom, glaring at him.

“What?” Neil asked.

“Take your shirt off.” Andrew walked around to the other side of the bed as Neil stared at him. “Everyone knows you’re supposed to take your clothes off to huddle for warmth.”

Neil rolled his eyes. “We already added an extra blanket, now you want me to sleep naked?”

“I am wearing shorts.” Andrew gestured to his bare chest, showing Neil he was committed. “I said shirt off, but if you want to sleep naked, go ahead.”

Neil rolled his eyes and stripped his clothes off, leaving him naked under the covers. He didn’t understand how that would help him stay warm, especially since he and Andrew never touched in their sleep. Then Andrew did something unexpected. He scooted closer and nudged Neil until he rolled onto his side, then Andrew scooted closer still. The position they ended up in was something Neil thought might be called spooning. Andrew was warm along his back and it took only a couple of minutes for him to drift off to sleep.

Andrew woke up with a pounding headache. He tried to take a deep breath but his nose revolted against him and he ended up coughing. In an effort to avoid waking Neil before the sunrise, Andrew got up, threw his hoodie on, and headed to the kitchen. Moving was hard, each step was like wading through concrete. His head was full of cotton and the congestion seemed to get worse now that he was upright. He made his way to the island and sat down on a stool, lowering his head onto the cool countertop. 

Renee came down a few minutes later, puttering around the kitchen and starting the coffee pot. 

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully. It was too loud. “Breakfast plans?”

Andrew shook his head, not raising it from its resting place on the countertop.

“Maybe Neil has an idea I’ll ask him.”

Normally Andrew would not be awake first, so if he was awake there was a good chance Neil was too. That was not the case today, and he only remembered at the last second.

“No,” Andrew growled just as Renee knocked on the door. 

Renee turned to him, confused. She lowered her hand and nodded. “Why? Everything alright?”

The door opened and Neil stepped out, wearing his old high school t-shirt and a pair of joggers that they shared.

Neil huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I just slept naked.”

“Boundaries,” Aaron said from Andrew’s side. 

It was concerning that he hadn’t heard him enter the kitchen, but with the way his entire body ached, he was distracted. 

Neil rolled his eyes as Aaron continued. “We have a rule, I don’t say anything about my sex like to Andrew and he doesn’t say anything about his to me.”

“Technically, no one broke that rule. Neither you nor Andrew said anything-”

“Neil, I swear to god I will punch you. It is too early for this shit.”

Andrew reached out and punched his brother in the stomach for that comment. It was a light punch, more a warning than anything else. Aaron punched his shoulder, hard enough that it hurt.

“Guys,” Neil started, but Renee shushed him.

“They’re bonding,” she said with a smile.

“That makes no sense,” Neil looked between her and the twins. 

“It’s a brother thing.”

“Oh fuck off,” Aaron growled. 

Andrew shoved him, which led to Aaron punching him again. 

Renee shook her head. “Boys.”

Neil did not look convinced, but he let it go. After getting a cup of coffee, he sat down next to Andrew and looked him over. Andrew didn’t have the energy to tell him to stop. 

“You good?” Neil asked.

Andrew glared at him, and Neil rolled his eyes. He continued to glare as Neil reached out and touched his forehead. 

“Andrew, you’re burning up.” Neil hopped off his stool and leaned closer. “How do you feel?”

It took him a second to answer as he cataloged everything wrong. “My throat feels like someone has stabbed it, my head weighs about a thousand pounds, my nose is so congested I can feel it in the roof of my mouth.”

Neil stared at him with wide eyes. “Have you taken anything?”

“No. Did you bring cold meds? I didn’t.”

Aaron cleared his throat. “Katelyn has a thermometer and some ibuprofen, I think.”

While Aaron ran to go get it, Neil ran his hand through Andrew’s hair. After a moment, Andrew lifted his head from the cold countertop and rested it against Neil’s shoulder. He refused to admit it helped him, even to himself. 

Renee offered him a soft, reassuring smile. “I’ll take Matt’s truck and head to the store. What do you want?”

Neil rattled off a shopping list Andrew didn’t bother to listen to. He focused on Neil’s hands in his hair and the sound of his heart. The rhythmic sound was putting him to sleep despite the fact that he was sitting up. 

When Aaron returned, he shoved the thermometer in Andrew’s mouth and made him take the ibuprofen. Andrew didn’t bother listening to the number, he knew Neil would pay attention to that. 

After being forced to eat a small breakfast, Andrew settled down on the couch as Neil started the fire. It was twice as big as the disaster Matt had made yesterday, and it radiated heat. Andrew zoned out as Neil left to eat his own breakfast. It felt like hours later when Neil returned with two cups of tea. 

Neil tried to sit on the floor, but Andrew pulled on his arm until he sat on the couch. He settled his head on Neil’s lap, falling asleep to Neil running his hands through his hair. 

The sun was finally up when he woke up again. He felt even worse somehow, barely managing to lift his head when Neil handed him the DayQuil. Neil made him drink some tea and suck on a lozenge before letting him go back to sleep.

The others woke up and went out to play in the snow. Andrew was only vaguely aware of people moving around him as he slept the day away. He felt safe with Neil and let himself rest because of it. In the past, he would have taken the cold meds and then made himself get up and go out with the rest of them. He had never had the luxury to take time to rest when he was sick before. 

Neil watched over him while he slept, bringing him medicine on the rotation Renee told him to and making him eat and drink a little bit every time he woke up. Andrew still felt miserable, but he felt better having Neil nearby. 

They ended up spending the entire trip either in their room or on the couch. Andrew told Neil he didn’t need a babysitter, that Neil could go out and play with his friends, but Neil didn’t listen. He stayed by Andrew’s side the whole time, taking care of him, and keeping him company. Andrew couldn’t say it out loud, but he was happy about it. 

On the last day, Andrew was feeling himself again. He got up and took a long shower, breathing freely for the first time in days. He packed their stuff up alone, letting Neil get well deserved some sleep. After breakfast, with all the cars packed and everyone ready to go, Andrew finally woke Neil up. 

Neil groaned and covered his eyes, hissing at the sunlight when Andrew opened the blinds. He sat up, looking like he wanted to cry. Andrew touched his forehead and hissed at the heat radiating off of it. 

Neil had taken care of him while he was sick. It was his turn to return the favor.


End file.
